Good post. This could be an important topic. Some thoughts arising:
Maybe research on noise pollution (eg from traffic, aircraft, wind farms) would say something about it.
Also maybe research on noise distraction as people get older. I’m 52 and have noticed in recent years I find background noise, particularly loud music in cafes, increasingly annoying and distracting. I assume this is because the brain has to work hard to blank it out (cf the so-called ‘cocktail party effect’); hence that even in younger people it’s using up brainpower somehow. I’ve never been able to do intellectual work with background music, and am baffled by people e.g. programmers who work with headphones playing music all day. But maybe for them it does just use different parts of the brain.
When I have a shower in the morning I listen to the radio news, but realise this is just ear-candy because there’s rarely much of great interest. So sometimes I switch it off and then often have a flood of useful ideas—I assume partly because of the well-known phenomenon of thinking in the shower (I assume related to thinking on walks—see separate comment), and partly because I’ve been asleep so my brain is relaxed, able to freely associate, and also maybe has been half-thinking about various topics while I was asleep. Which confirms my suspicion that background sound—particularly attention-grabbing sound such as speech and music—inhibits thinking. But nonetheless I do find it quite hard to switch the radio off—I crave the ear-candy.
Relatedly, research on boredom might be useful. There’s the interesting experiment where people are put in an empty room to sit in silence for a few minutes, with the option to give themselves electric shocks. Many (particularly men) choose to to avoid boredom. Presumably cavemen wouldn’t have done this. I assume this shows that we are generally overstimulated in the modern world, including by sound. Many observe that smartphones etc. provide too much stimulation, and that in our parents’ and grandparents’ day people were much more able to do nothing, or at least create their own entertainment (an active process, rather than passively listening).
I’ve never been able to do intellectual work with background music, and am baffled by people e.g. programmers who work with headphones playing music all day. But maybe for them it does just use different parts of the brain
For me, there is a huge qualitative difference between lyrical music or even “interesting” classical and electronic music, and very “boring,” quiet lyric-less music. Can’t focus at all listening to lyrics, but soft ambient music feels intuitively helpful (though this could be illusory). This is especially the case when its a playlist or song I’ve heard a hundred times before, so the tune is completely unsurprising.
Yes I’ve heard others say they can’t listen to lyrics.
The one thing I’ve started playing recently in the otherwise silent room where I work is quiet birdsong (background level, hardly noticeable). On the grounds it may have a subconscious effect of making me feel I’m outdoors, which may be conducive to creativity (cf walks), or at least be relaxing.
Good post. This could be an important topic. Some thoughts arising:
Maybe research on noise pollution (eg from traffic, aircraft, wind farms) would say something about it.
Also maybe research on noise distraction as people get older. I’m 52 and have noticed in recent years I find background noise, particularly loud music in cafes, increasingly annoying and distracting. I assume this is because the brain has to work hard to blank it out (cf the so-called ‘cocktail party effect’); hence that even in younger people it’s using up brainpower somehow. I’ve never been able to do intellectual work with background music, and am baffled by people e.g. programmers who work with headphones playing music all day. But maybe for them it does just use different parts of the brain.
When I have a shower in the morning I listen to the radio news, but realise this is just ear-candy because there’s rarely much of great interest. So sometimes I switch it off and then often have a flood of useful ideas—I assume partly because of the well-known phenomenon of thinking in the shower (I assume related to thinking on walks—see separate comment), and partly because I’ve been asleep so my brain is relaxed, able to freely associate, and also maybe has been half-thinking about various topics while I was asleep. Which confirms my suspicion that background sound—particularly attention-grabbing sound such as speech and music—inhibits thinking. But nonetheless I do find it quite hard to switch the radio off—I crave the ear-candy.
Relatedly, research on boredom might be useful. There’s the interesting experiment where people are put in an empty room to sit in silence for a few minutes, with the option to give themselves electric shocks. Many (particularly men) choose to to avoid boredom. Presumably cavemen wouldn’t have done this. I assume this shows that we are generally overstimulated in the modern world, including by sound. Many observe that smartphones etc. provide too much stimulation, and that in our parents’ and grandparents’ day people were much more able to do nothing, or at least create their own entertainment (an active process, rather than passively listening).
Thanks for your perspective.
For me, there is a huge qualitative difference between lyrical music or even “interesting” classical and electronic music, and very “boring,” quiet lyric-less music. Can’t focus at all listening to lyrics, but soft ambient music feels intuitively helpful (though this could be illusory). This is especially the case when its a playlist or song I’ve heard a hundred times before, so the tune is completely unsurprising.
Yes I’ve heard others say they can’t listen to lyrics.
The one thing I’ve started playing recently in the otherwise silent room where I work is quiet birdsong (background level, hardly noticeable). On the grounds it may have a subconscious effect of making me feel I’m outdoors, which may be conducive to creativity (cf walks), or at least be relaxing.